So, let's say you decide to cheat stupid ol' Marius and he doesn't notice, which doesn't mean that nobody else noticed it. You have your little chat with Marius (we'll get back to it), click on the door, and...

Alright, let's say you are not very smart and you don't know how to cheat. Then what? Then you talk to someone who can. Stick around, we'll be right back (no, it's not one of those "we'll be right back, see you in a few days" moments).

What bugs me is the lare empty space in the middle of the room. There should be at least one, two tables there.

Then navigating around would be a pain.

Clearly I can't judge it as well as you can, but the room looks large enough to accomodate at least one table in the middle with enough space to walk around it easily.Otherwise, you could at least arrange the tables to occupy more room. You could move the small round table on the left towards the center of the room, and maybe likewise with the two tables in the corners. Right now it looks really crowded at the edges of the room while having a big empty space in the middle, you could at least loosen that up without really changing the layout.

Oh, and about the table with the banks. If you turned that by ninety degrees, i think it would extend deeper into the room.

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That means doing sitting and standing up animations. Not to mention other tweaks. Worth it?

Yeah, I kinda expected you didn't have them. I guess it depends on how much work it would really be.I don't suppose just placing sitting models is viable.

So, if you lack the skills, then you talk to Cado. Now, obviously Cado won't help you for free. The question is what. We've tried a lot of different things, but nothing worked [well]. It was either something needlessly complicated (i.e. an entirely different quest) or something so simple that it would have been meaningless to the player in terms of a sacrifice. So, after a long time of thinking I came up with this rather brilliant (even if I do say so myself) twist. Now that's something you would have to think about.

Btw, if you decide to threaten Cado, the conversation takes this turn.

The choices look good. I like the fact that streetwise can be used for cheating. What's even better is those thieves who notice your tricks. It really seems like the game takes everything into account and reacts to everything.

I like the size and layout of the tavern. It looks like a small, comfy place for local rabble. The models and their clothing look really fine, especially the long, light brown robes. Cado's gear looks awesome.

As to Cado's offer, it's equally great. Long term consequences for the win! It will be nice to see what kind of sacrifices you'll have to make in your relationship. I'm thinking... wouldn't someone playing a merchant have a relatively high intelligence score? If the INT check for cheating isn't too high, a typical merchant player might miss this option, which would be a shame.

I wonder what happens if Kiara puts on her slutty dress instead of all those options?

No idea, but happy bithousandth post!

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"Man is a marvelous curiosity. When he is at his very, very best he is a sort of low grade nickel-plated angel; at his worst he is unspeakable, unimaginable; and first and last and all the time he is a sarcasm." - Samuel L. Clemens

I wonder what happens if Kiara puts on her slutty dress instead of all those options?

Not implying that all women are slutty or anything, but all this talk about choices and stuff... Reminds me of some old Troika interview (I think it was) where they were basically saying that everything is about meaningful choices. Even the gender selection should be meaningful and not just swap out "man" for "woman" in dialogues, there should be some unique stuff for it.

Not sure how far that's taken in AoD but it's a great design philosophy. Troika ruled basically.

Also, the sceenshots are brilliant. I love the fact that the skill doesn't feel like the "automatic win" button. It's more in support of your decisions. The cheating is a great thing, especially since these people actually see you and call you out on it. A great *gulp* moment and sort of "challenge" to the player. It's awesome.

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Vince: "We strongly believe that the hardcore player doesn't want to be loved, but wants to be kicked in the balls and then kneed in the face."

Indeed, great stuff again. It's all very realistic and you're not some kind of superhero making things work at your will, you actually have to think and make some sacrifices. Not that I expected otherwise from you, but still noteworthy. I also love the "hard way out" option of killing them all, should be a fun way to try.

On the other hand.. I know you'll all hate me for this, but I really think that having everyone in the whole game standing may look weird after a while, especially when the text descriptions say otherwise. No people sitting around a campfire in the dark woods, no one lying in their beds at nightly assasination attemps and otherwordly taverns with an exesive amount of chairs but no one wanting to sit on them? Adding this might be worth it to give the world a bit (lot) more life.